by erin thursby scopes1925@msn.com
What: Nekromantix
When: April 26th
Where: Jack Rabbits
In the past fifteen years, one band that has had a tremendous influence on the niche of psychobilly is Nekromantix, the brainchild of Kim Nekroman (real name Dan Gaarde). Nekroman was playing drums in a rockabilly band in ’89, when he decided to form his own band in the psychobilly vein. He took up the upright bass, fashioning the instrument from a coffin.
Later, he taught wife Patricia Day to play the upright bass, a skill she used when fronting her own band, the HorrorPops. In exchange, Day taught Nekroman to play the guitar. He plays guitar for the HorrorPops when he isn’t touring or recording with Nekromantix.
Nekromantix just released a new CD this year, titled Life is a Grave & I Dig it! and the HorrorPops have been busy recording their newest item since their 2005 release, Bring It On!
I got the chance to ask Kim Nekroman silly questions, a well as a few serious ones, in a phone interview for EU.
EU: Have you ever laid in a coffin?
KN: Yeah.
EU: And you worked in the Royal Navy for 8 years on submarines.
KN: Uh-huh.
EU: Submarines and coffins—compare and contrast!
KN: I see a lot of similarities. The term for submarines is ‘water coffin.’ You know, it really is just a box and you’re locked in. The only difference is in a submarine you’re alive and usually when you’re in a coffin with the lid on—you’re supposed to be dead…or else you’re in deep shit.
EU: Why is death so damn cool?
KN: I don’t know why you ask me, because I never claimed that death was cool, however, it is a part of life and that’s where everything will end up anyway. So I’m kind of just touching on a subject that’s…taboo and I guess that [we] try to show the humor…I love people who are scared of death and dying…It’s just seeing that from the humorous side…
EU: You made the coffin shaped bass you play in the Necromantix. How do you build a coffin bass?
KN: The first one that I made was built out of a real [child’s] coffin and I just wanted to improve them..[so] I just started building the whole thing from scratch…I don’t really have any education with wood work or anything, so I just learned by myself…Every time I build one, it’s because I want to improve it—not the design, not the looks, but little things you can feel when you play it.
EU: What’s in your CD player right now?
KN: Nothing really, because when we ended the Nekromantix recordings, I started recording with my other band, the HorrorPops, so I haven’t been listening to anything…
EU: Dividing the time between the bands must be difficult.
KN: Sometimes it can be hard to juggle. There’s only 24 hours in a day, and sometimes, that’s not enough. When everyone else in the Nekromantix is relaxing, that means I’m working with the Horror Pops and vice versa.
EU: But you get to see your wife.
KN: That’s one of the great things about being in a band with your wife.
EU: What is it that you like best about the psychobilly genre?
KN: To me it’s all about having fun, the humorous side of it. Especially today. I hate bands that take themselves too serious…because to me humor is such a big part of life. My idea of psychobilly is have fun and just kind of escape from everyday boring stuff.
Necromantix will be performing in Jacksonville at Jackrabbit’s on April 26th in their usual wild style.
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